The pet culture in Tunisia

I brought my little dog from England. He's always welcome in hotels and restaurants (the way it used to be in the UK). There are competent, caring vets to be found. The only issue so far is that the vets I've used don't take the animal out of its cage or crate to relieve itself. I've been told this is because the vet attendants are fearful of dogs, but who knows the real reason? I was assured that my dog would toilet itself 'en place' but he didn't, and held it for three days! This was really unfair, so now I stress the fact that he MUST be taken out and walked.
I cook up his food in batches of rice, chicken and vegs and mix it with a handful of dry, because dry dog food is quite expensive here.
I may be wrong, but it seems as if more Tunisians are acquiring pet dogs. My neighborhood has several, mostly small, white and fluffy! Tunisians tend to gravitate to the smaller, lighter-colored and yappier breeds. This again I've been told is from a prejudice against black animals. (Many years ago, I met a man who'd poured bleach on his black dog to lighten its coat, but that's another story..) Luckily, my almost-black Scottish Terrier has a white beard! People often make a huge fuss over him.
As long as adjustments can be made and one isn't expecting things to be the same as at home, pet dogs fit in well with Tunisian life.